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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25158790">Sinking In Shadows: The Final Wave</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pinx_B/pseuds/Pinx_B'>Pinx_B</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Touhou Project</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Blood and Gore, Dark, F/F, Heavy Angst, Introspection, Suicide, Yuri</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 04:28:10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,203</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25158790</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pinx_B/pseuds/Pinx_B</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>With the culmination of their atrocities raw in their scattered minds, some became inculcated with regret while others sought to satiate the unyielding need to garner more peace from the unrest which had embroiled Gensokyo..</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Sinking In Shadows: The Final Wave</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <br/>
  <em> <strong>"The tipping point; it's inevitable, reaching an apotheosis where not even the innocent remain untainted because that was the reality of life, it all had to end eventually". </strong> </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Insanity had become the embodiment of Yukari's contentious project.</p><p>Gensokyo had failed.</p><p>Madness was as contagious as any other disease as it swept over the now decrepit land.</p><p>Despair rampant.</p><p>Death glorified.</p><p>Demise imminent.</p><p>Every single inhabitant had become an anathema to their crumbling society. </p><p>It left Yorihime and Toyohime with no choice but to execute a contingency plan, an antidote to quell the insanity that was running free at a pervasive pace. </p><p>They observed on in lugubrious disgust and pity as the deepest and darkest sides of earthlings came to light, taking over every mind, be they human or youkai.</p><p>There was nothing left of this land that once harboured an amiable peace between many species.</p><p>Its sages were dead.</p><p>The sisters would carry out this last request in their memory.</p><p>Nobody could be saved and those that could elude death would remain empty in their desolate minds as they learned to live with the chaos that had unfurled because that is how fragile minds were.</p><p>All it took was <em>one</em> final snap and any rationality and sensibility came undone.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Eientei</strong> </p><p>They witnessed Reisen and Eirin succumb to the hysteria.</p><p>The doctor was still bounded to the chair with a crazed Reisen seated on her, using the tips of her fingers that were alight with danmaku, scraping it over Eirin's flesh which had continued to regenerate hours into her capture. The strips of skin peeled off, leaving the burned stench lingering in the air as Eirin barely winced now. Her eyes were devoid as they stared right through Reisen, not feeling the blood dribble down her chest which glistened with sweat and blood. </p><p>It was a much calmer form of punishment than what Reisen had done to her earlier.</p><p>There was only so many time she could have her organs yanked out, tearing through her skin and being dropped onto the floor before the routine became predictable and repetitive.</p><p>The squelching of each bodily component, slipping and sliding over Reisen's hands as she bought them up from Eirin to see before letting it fall soon turned tame. </p><p>Yes, being flayed alive was far more calming than the abhorrent things Reisen had done to her. </p><p>Reisen's smile morphed into a form resembling deliration, a permanent fixture as she lifted Eirin's head up so that the sage could look at her, burrowing deeply into her eyes. She then proceeded to slam a palm hard enough to crack through Eirin's ribs, the shards impaling her heart and cutting off her life there and then. A heavy splatter of grisly innards tore apart given the impact, hanging out of the hole now. Eirin's eyes widened as she gurgled, the rife pain reminding her that she hadn't adjusted to all the things Reisen had been doing.</p><p>But it didn't matter, Reisen was only doing what she was taught, she simply had the effrontery to dish it out now that the clarity in her brain had rotted away. </p><p>And Eirin would come back to life to endure it over and over.</p><p>Or so she thought before Reisen finally closed her mouth, looking content with blood coating all over her as she ran her palm over the sticky and slimy surface of Eirin's innards. </p><p>She was tired.</p><p>Killing Eirin was only going to end in one way, they both knew that.</p><p>But it still didn't prepare Eirin for what she felt when Reisen hugged her, the sides of their heads pressed together. </p><p>She felt tears drop onto her shoulder from Reisen's face as her opened torso matted against Reisen's body, her ribs tumbling out with each movement.</p><p>Eirin couldn't think, her brain had long diminished due to being cut off but there was some semblance of understanding as Reisen exhaled and said goodbye.</p><p>The woman couldn't see where Reisen's right hand had moved to.</p><p>Her temple which was aligned with Eirin's.</p><p>Reisen smiled sadly, though the action came out crude: her red eyes wide and that same manic smile back on her face.</p><p>She then fired.</p><p>The bullet going from Reisen's brain and through Eirin's, killing them both.</p><p>But only <em>one</em> would survive to be left with the corpse of an apprentice that had sworn to defend them.</p><p>Something that the madness had stripped away.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <strong>Bamboo Forest of the Lost</strong>
</p><p>They watched Kaguya attempt to repent. </p><p>The forest was ablaze with monstrous cries from all species that resided there.</p><p>But Kaguya paid no heed to it.</p><p>Keine was cradled in her lap, the woman's heart still clenched in Kaguya's palm and remains in an etiolated state. </p><p>It had long stopped beating but Kaguya couldn't keep her eyes off of it.</p><p>Keine wasn't coming back and <em>she</em> was responsible for that.</p><p>The princess's gaze was neutral, her eyes bleak as she watched Keine's lifeless form, wishing it would move.</p><p>But that wouldn't happen anymore because of her own jealousy.</p><p>In an act of desperation, Kaguya's nails tore at the skin where there was a gaping hole, where Keine's heart once was. She clawed at the flesh, making the hole bigger whilst thrown bits of muscle and strings of nerves to the side as she had an idea. She would put Keine's heart back in place so that she could come back to life again.</p><p>Kaguya smiled at the ingenuity of the idea as the bloodied wound on Keine's chest now resembled a crater, one that would be filled again.</p><p>She then picked up the rotting heart and placed it into the widened circle before dragging the sides of Keine's skin, pulling it so that it would close over her heart.</p><p>But it didn't work, the skin wouldn't cover the wound and Kaguya panicked as she tugged and grabbed till there was barely anything left of Keine's chest cavity.</p><p>It was useless, a pitiful whimper escaping her lips when her arms slumped down. </p><p>Nothing would bring her back.</p><p>This was her own doing.</p><p>She didn't deserve to live anymore.</p><p>Her eyes darted around to find her hourai branch, the eternal item being the key to finishing this and she had to end it. </p><p>For Keine's sake.</p><p>So with an out of place snicker, Kaguya retrieved the branch, the edges of the tips sharp enough to do what she wanted.</p><p>With one final longing look at Keine, she smiled before saying she would see her soon.</p><p>And the proceeded to plunge the branch of the Hourai, the sharpest tip angled upwards against the roof of her mouth.</p><p>The branch pierced the flesh inside of Kaguya's mouth with the severe pressure she used, the brown item sliding up and into her brain, lodging firmly whilst tearing apart the system that connected everything there. A gushing of blood exited Kaguya, sliding down her throat which choked her further till a curtain of crimson covered her clothes. She gargled, shoving harder till the branch could nestle against her skull, deep enough to scrape the rest of her brain together and skewer it.</p><p>Her demise have been imminent but it was temporary as she slumped down over Keine, the branch still stuck in her mouth as it connected with the ground, pushing it up further.</p><p>The enchanted object couldn't be destroyed so it would be her skull which snapped first before the Hourai branch ever did </p><p>Kaguya's eyes closed as she took in the sleeping features of Keine's face, coming to terms with the fact that this wasn't over.</p><p>But Kaguya was fine with that, if only for a ephemeral reunion with her beloved. </p><p>She would do it over and over again.</p><p>Such was the definition of insanity.</p><p><br/><strong>Scarlet Devil Mansion</strong> </p><p>They watched chaotic flames engulf Remilia's home.</p><p>It didn't mask the enormity of the transgressions that were committed there. </p><p>With most of its residents dead and Flandre setting loose on the Human Village, killing anyone on sight, the building was a morgue to the rest of its inhabitants.</p><p>Sakuya had already slit her throat, copying the murder of her mistress as they lay together in the vampire's bed, her decapitated body beneath Sakuya's.</p><p>The library was a furnace as Patchouli watched the flames flicker and dance over the things she treasured the most, the things she had killed for.</p><p>The charred corpse of Marisa remained on the ground next to her as the flames of her body spread around the room with no attempt at stopping it. Koakuma could only watch in idleness, her mistress appearing lifeless with a chilling smile bracing her lips. She was petting the remains of the dirty blonde of Marisa's now straw like hair, clumps of it coming off as she continued to go up in smoke.</p><p>The flames soon found the magician whom couldn't breath due to the smoke inhalation and was as good as dead. </p><p>So why not spend the last moments with the pest she had come to adore.</p><p>There was truly no way out now, nothing could be savoured as the inferno caught onto her dress, quickly setting the woman ablaze as her lavender eyes barely remained open.</p><p>The smell was as sickening as was through the process of torching Marisa.</p><p>It was the kind of stench that stuck into the air for weeks later, burning flesh lingering around as the charred pieces of flesh coated everything.</p><p>If Patchouli was in pain, she didn't show it, didn't scream like Marisa did.</p><p>Not that she could since her lungs were filled with grey plumes of smoke which had now become a part of her system. She coughed pathetically, watching the flames crawl up her legs, her clothing burning off as the redness and welts appeared on her skin. She was captivated with intrigue as the flesh melted and appeared to pull apart to reveal the femoral artery, blood leaking like a candle, eroding everything in the way waves eroded rocks.</p><p>Except now, it was bones, the white coming through the deeper the flames sank. </p><p>Her blood sizzled, oozing out under the heat and Patchouli hissed as the fire gradually climbed higher and higher.</p><p>She smiled in a fatuous manner. </p><p>If there was a place she would die, it would certainly be in her library. </p><p>So as the remains of her burning skin left a putrid odour around, as the flesh, veins and nerves melted grotesquely with the rest of her organs which were being cooked, Patchouli closed her eyes, unable to move. </p><p>Her face was alight now, skin shedding under the flames till she looked like an emaciated corpse that mirrored Marisa's own charred body, fluttering away as the mansion burned around them. </p><p>The reprehensible activities that had flourished within would crumble down with the building, making their home there forever. </p><p>There was no need to run anymore.</p><p><br/><strong>Hakurei Shrine</strong> </p><p>They watched the demise of Reimu.</p><p>Yukari's mangled body remained upright against the wall with an empty Reimu kneeled in front of her. </p><p>There was little left of Yukari's form as the shrine was decorated with a coat of red wherever you looked. Reimu had exerted herself in ensuring that Yukari was dead, couldn't regenerate, couldn't escape the confines of the charms she had used to imprison her.</p><p>And now that the deed was done, she was catatonic.</p><p>The chaos around the land didn't reach her, didn't bother her, it wasn't of use anymore.</p><p>Shrine maidens were fodder, she knew that so Yukari deserved what she got, so did the execrable villagers. </p><p>She wondered if she deserved what was to happen to her as the door to the shrine slid open, a screeching sound disturbing the eerie peace. </p><p>Reimu turned whilst remaining seated to see Kotohime come in, half limping with a dead grin on her face.</p><p>In her hand, she could see a sword, Meira's katana, the item marred with red.</p><p>In her other hand, Kotohime held Meira's head with blood splattering onto the ground.</p><p>It was fresh. </p><p>Reimu's eyes merely opened a fraction at the sight. She could not move, her arms feeling heavy as Kotohime stepped into the room and closed the door. The redhead seemed to be moving on autopilot as she threw Meira's head onto Reimu's lap.</p><p>The decapitated body part looked up at Reimu, Meira's eyes wide and mouth stained with dried blood as the neck retained a part of the spinal cord, some of the nerves and ligaments dangling down. Her lap became even more damp when whatever was left in the samurai's head spilled out due to the action of Kotohime throwing her.</p><p>So Meira was dead too. </p><p>She looked up to see that the princess had swayed closer to her, sword in hands and ready.</p><p>That was all the warning received when Kotohime's footfalls filled the silence of the shrine.</p><p>Reimu was impaled with Meira's sword, right through her heart and out of her back, stultifying her. </p><p>Kotohime had been speared by Reimu's gohei, the weapon lodged in her stomach and through it, immobilising her. </p><p>Both remained upright as they registered their demise. </p><p>The brunette could feel the sword turn in her heart, slicing everything in there as a glob of blood spat up her lungs that were filling with the liquid. It was cold, the blade in her heart but was just as quickly warmed up as the hilt pressed against her chest, shoving the sword in further to plunge through her flesh.</p><p>Kotohime tumbled to her knees as the feeling of the wooden gohei slammed into her stomach further, shredding it open to let all the acid out and meld with the rest of her organs, the bile and blood becoming an amalgamation of her mind before the mixture exited her wound like a sinkhole. </p><p>They stared at each other, eyes glossed over, death encompassing them as the madness of their actions started to ruminate but it was too late, they were gone, as was everyone they knew.</p><p>The grip on their weapons slackened as their bodies fumbled to the ground next to each other.</p><p>The youkai sage behind them and human guard of Gensokyo were no more, both dead in the shrine. </p><p>It was all over. </p><p><br/>Chaos had taken over Gensokyo and there would be nothing left worth saving, everything was infected, an epidemic. </p><p>They <em>all</em> had to die in order to be liberated from the heinous deeds being carried out. </p><p>The land had to be purified again.</p><p>Which is exactly what Yorihime and Toyohime were going to do.</p><p>They hovered in the air near the Hakurei Shrine, studying the bloodshed and unrest that continued to unfurl.</p><p>The land was alive with screams of desperation, of madness, of diabolical giddiness. </p><p>It was already close enough to being decimated so the sisters had to put them out of their misery.</p><p>The night did little to mask away the inhumane acts the residents were carrying out because their spiral into madness couldn't be stopped, couldn't be reverted.</p><p>Humans were fragile, as were youkai in their own way.</p><p>There was only so much a mind could take before it fractured and splintered away and death was the only way out.</p><p>Living was elongated suffering, cruel, a mirage.</p><p>Things didn't get better.</p><p>The denizens of Gensokyo were now near to that. </p><p>So Yorihime and Toyohime got to work in exterminating the poisonous land.</p><p>The blonde had her fan out, the same one she had threatened Yukari with when she captured her. It had the capability of wiping the entire land out and Yukari knew this even if she was hoping to distract the lunarian princess. </p><p>The lunarians could have annihilated them at any time if there wasn't too much politics and an omnipotent youkai sage involved.</p><p>But now they would have the chance, but this had nothing to do with the Lunar Capital.</p><p>Yorihime summoned one of the goddesses she had used to fight Reimu, Remilia, Sakuya and Marisa. </p><p>The deity surrounded her, waiting for the order from Yorihime. The destruction from her would be instantaneous as their combined power would reduce the time spent suffering.</p><p>It was morose, disheartening.</p><p>They didn't want to do this but as a favour to those that were suffering, as a favour to their master, and to Yukari, this had to end <em>now</em>.</p><p>There was no other way around it.</p><p>Nothing good would come of Gensokyo's isolationism as it was.</p><p>Psychopathy and lawlessness had become the conduit to the actions of those who survived the battle royal.</p><p>The sisters readied themselves, floating to the outskirts.</p><p>Suffering was the question, death was the answer.</p><p>So the duo readied their weapons before sharing one final nod to end it all. </p><p>Not a second later did a raging fire emit from Toyohime's fan, setting the entirety of the landscape alight. </p><p>Honoikazuchi sped into the air, unleashing a torrent of lighting on the places that hadn't been engulfed by the flames yet. </p><p>The bright light melded with the orange flames of Toyohime's fan as both spread through the grounds and air in perfect harmony, covering every nook and cranny, every person, every mind.</p><p>Buildings crumbled, bodies burned and screams pierced the air as death greeted them all. </p><p>There could be nothing left and those that remained alive would suffer a fate worse than death, to forever be trapped in a cycle of remembering and reliving everything.</p><p>Toyohime and Yorihime watched on with heavy hearts, the foreboding glow of the flames filling the land which now resembled a hell that nobody could have anticipated. It was the only way to cleanse the place, to make sure nothing was left because once something was infected, especially the mind, it was difficult to save. </p><p>They had peered in with hopeful eyes at those that escaped but they too fell into the cavern that was insanity.</p><p>Earthlings were fickle beings, regardless of how powerful or weak they were.</p><p>So as the flames and lightning scorched the earth and the skies, Gensokyo burned.</p><p>It burned till nothing was left, till the land was blackened like an ugly wound left on the surface of the earth.</p><p>The barrier was no more. </p><p>Gensokyo was no more. </p><p>Protecting the land from the outside may have been one thing but what of the rot that was forming in the inside?</p><p>Such was the schematics of the mind.</p><p>Such were the thoughts of earthlings. </p><p>There was <em>no</em> cure, not when the depths of despair couldn't be climbed out of.</p><p>So, the graves had been made, and now they would lie in them. </p><p>What a pitiful end to a pitiful existence. </p><p>
  <br/>
  <strong> <em>"She tried, all the facetious entities to exist could see how desperately she tried to cling onto her depleting sanity, humanity, but she was never meant to remain that way. She was to become the manifestation of all that was toxic, forced into her, by hands that were never meant to be on her. There was never an exit from her own skin, not without slicing herself out of it which is what would transpire, there was no need to go on, to hold out for a light, it was all an illusion, we were not meant to survive".</em> </strong>
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